Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney
Crosby said the National Hockey League season probably won’t
start as scheduled on Oct. 11 because no new labor agreement is
imminent.

The NHL Players’ Association today finished a second round
of internal talks at a New York hotel, two days before the
current collective bargaining agreement between the players and
owners is due to expire. Flanked by at least two dozen players,
including Crosby and Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, union
Executive Director Donald Fehr told reporters there have been no
developments since yesterday, when new proposals were rejected
by both sides.

Crosby said that while the players have been willing to
agree to concessions, they feel as though owners had their minds
set on a lockout since talks began this offseason.

“Right now I don’t think it’s looking like we’re going to
start on time,” he said.

The NHL Board of Governors is also meeting today in New
York and is scheduled to address the media later this afternoon.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said yesterday that the union’s
most recent proposal offered little change from its prior
position. He reiterated that league owners would not operate the
2012-13 season under the current agreement.

“The proposal was really not much different -- other than
a couple of things around the edges -- than the last proposal
that they had made that we had indicated was clearly not
acceptable,” Bettman told reporters.

Owners offered players 47 percent of hockey-related
revenue, one percentage point more than previously. They
currently get 57 percent. Under the union’s proposal, the
players’ share would decrease to 52 percent over four years as
revenue increased.

No Negotiations

Both Bettman and Fehr said yesterday they would be open to
meeting again before midnight on Sept. 15, when the current
collective bargaining agreement expires. Fehr said today that
plans had not yet been made to continue negotiations.

There’s no legal requirement for a lockout in the absence
of a new agreement, because the sides can continue to operate
under the old accord while negotiations proceed. Bettman said
that owners won’t operate the 2012-13 season without a new deal;
Fehr said players are willing to compete while negotiations
continue.